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Cindy Timchal

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Cindy Timchal
Born (1954-09-14) September 14, 1954 (age 70)
NationalityAmerican
NCAA teamWest Chester University
U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 2012

Cindy Timchal (born September 14, 1954) is an American lacrosse coach. She is the head women's lacrosse coach at the United States Naval Academy. She has coached for some of the top programs in college women's lacrosse, including Northwestern University, University of Maryland. At Maryland Timchal coached the Terrapins to seven straight NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championships.

Background

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Timchal grew up in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and despite not playing lacrosse in high school,[1] Timchal went on to play on the lacrosse team at West Chester University. While at West Chester, Timchal was also a member of the Tennis and Track and Field teams.[2] After graduating college, Timchal got her first coaching job at Unionville High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the coaching staff for the lacrosse, field hockey, and basketball teams. In 1979, after coaching for two years at Unionville, Timchal began her college coaching career at The University of Pennsylvania, where she was an assistant for the lacrosse and field hockey teams.[3]

Coaching at Northwestern

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Timchal's head coaching career started in 1982 when she took on the program at Northwestern University. She stayed with the Wildcats for nine years, coaching them to five NCAA Tournament appearances in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1988.[4] Timchal's record at Northwestern was 76–40. She posted a winning season for eight out of her nine seasons.

Coaching at Maryland

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In 1991, Timchal left Northwestern to pursue her coaching career at the University of Maryland. Although Maryland had a history of being a powerhouse in lacrosse, the Terps only had one NCAA title which they won in 1986.[5] In just her first season as head coach, Timchal led her team to an NCAA final as well as a 14–3 record before they lost to Virginia in the NCAA championship.[6] The next season, 1992, Maryland would make it to the finals, where they would defeat Harvard 11–10 in overtime as Timchal would gain her first national championship.

Following Maryland's loss to Princeton in the 1994 finals, Maryland went on a 50-game winning streak. This would take place during Maryland's seven-year reign as national champions from 1995 to 2001.[7] This included a 13-5[8] national championship win over Princeton in 1995.[9] The seven-season championship streak was completed with the 2001 title game, in which Maryland posted a perfect 23–0 season and defeated Georgetown in triple overtime.[10][11]

Overall, Timchal's record at Maryland was 260-46 and her winning percentage was 85%.

Coaching at Navy

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On August 5, 2006,[12] Timchal was named the head coach for the women's lacrosse team at the United States Naval Academy. Timchal was given the opportunity by athletic director Chet Gladchuk to become the first women's lacrosse coach as Navy decided to elevate its club program to the Division I level. Gladchuck described Timchal as "the finest coach in the history of the game".[13] Timchal was quick to make Navy a league power. As a member of the Patriot League, Navy challenged the top teams in the league and went on to achieve a record of 13–4 in just their first year as a Division-I program in 2008. Timchal's 2009 season saw similar success.

In 2010, Navy broke out, going 17-4 while capturing their first Patriot League title and their first NCAA tournament appearance. It took only three years for Navy to achieve an NCAA appearance, the fastest a new team had qualified in 13 years.[14] Their success in 2010 left Navy ranked 19th nationally.[15]

In 2017, Coach Timchal's team again won the Patriot League, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. In the quarter-finals, Navy defeated the reigning national champions, North Carolina, to earn their first appearance in the Final Four, where they lost to Boston College, 16–15. Navy's final record was an impressive 18–5.

Former players as coaches

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Throughout Timchal's coaching career, she has accumulated a growing coaching tree, as many of her former players have gone on to become coaches. In the 2011 season there were over 20 collegiate lacrosse coaches who had been coached by Timchal during her time as Maryland's head coach. The following are a few of the coaches that represent five different leagues in Women's lacrosse. To represent the Patriot League, Jen Adams is the head coach of Loyola University in Maryland. Following in Timchal's footsteps as the head coach for the University of Maryland is Cathy Reese. Maryland assistant, Quinn Carney is also a former Timchal player. Atlantic Coast Conference coaches include Maryland assistant, Quinn Carney, as well as Duke head coach Kerstin Kimmel, Duke assistant coach, Alex Kahoe, and Boston College head coach, Acacia Walker. Timchal's players are involved in the Colonial League through Katie Doolittle the head coach at Towson University, and Sonia Lamonica, Towson's assistant coach. The NLC includes head coach of High Point's team, Megan Cassara. Former players of Timchal's are currently head coaches in the Big Ten, including Kelly Amonte Hiller at Northwestern, Missy Doherty at Pennsylvania State, and Alexis Venechanos at Ohio State.

Coaching style

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Timchal's demonstrated her unique coaching style through techniques that translated on and off the field. As Maryland's head coach, she hired Dr. Jerry Lynch, a well-known author and psychiatrist in order to mentally prepare her team. Timchal also hired Gary Gait as an assistant coach. Gait was a Major League Lacrosse and National Lacrosse League player at the time. Timchal tested these resources, which translated into success on the field.

Awards and achievements

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The following awards and achievements were listed on gonavy.com:

  • Two-time National Coach of the Year
  • 8 NCAA Championships- the 25th most all-time in any sport by a coach and fourth most in a women's sport in NCAA history
  • 7 consecutive NCAA Championships (1995–2001)- tied for the seventh most in any sport in NCAA Division I history and third most in a women's sport
  • 394 victories, which is the most in NCAA history for any division
  • A career winning percentage of .790
  • 499 games coached which is the second most in NCAA history
  • The most NCAA tournament appearances with 23 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • Only coach in NCAA history to lead three different teams to NCAA Tournament
  • 18 NCAA quarterfinal appearances
  • Has coached 54 different players who received 96 All-America honors
  • Four-time ACC Coach of the Year
  • Inducted into the Delaware County sports hall of fame[16]

In 2012, Timchal was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[17]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Northwestern Wildcats (NCAA independent) (1982–1990)
1982 Northwestern 8–3
1983 Northwestern 11–3 NCAA first round
1984 Northwestern 10–4 NCAA quarterfinals
1985 Northwestern 7–4
1986 Northwestern 10–4 NCAA Division I quarterfinals
1987 Northwestern 10–4 NCAA Division I quarterfinals
1988 Northwestern 10–5 NCAA Division I quarterfinals
1989 Northwestern 6–5
1990 Northwestern 4–8
Northwestern: 76–40 (.655)
Maryland Terrapins (NCAA independent) (1991–1996)
1991 Maryland 14–3 NCAA Division I runner-up
1992 Maryland 14–1 NCAA Division I champion
1993 Maryland 12–2 NCAA Division I semifinals
1994 Maryland 12–1 NCAA Division I runner-up
1995 Maryland 17–0 NCAA Division I champion
1996 Maryland 19–0 NCAA Division I champion
Maryland Terrapins (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1997–2006)
1997 Maryland 21–1 3–0 1st NCAA Division I champion
1998 Maryland 18–3 1–2 T–2nd NCAA Division I champion
1999 Maryland 21–0 3–0 1st NCAA Division I champion
2000 Maryland 21–1 2–1 T–1st NCAA Division I champion
2001 Maryland 23–0 3–0 1st NCAA Division I champion
2002 Maryland 11–10 0–3 4th NCAA Division I quarterfinals
2003 Maryland 18–4 3–0 1st NCAA Division I semifinals
2004 Maryland 15–5 1–2 3rd NCAA Division I quarterfinals
2005 Maryland 12–7 2–2 T–2nd NCAA Division I first round
2006 Maryland 12–8 2–3 4th NCAA Division I first round
Maryland: 260–46 (.850) 20–13 (.606)
Navy Midshipmen (Patriot League) (2008–present)
2008 Navy 13–4 4–2 T–2nd
2009 Navy 13–5 4–2 T–2nd
2010 Navy 17–4 5–1 T–1st NCAA Division I first round
2011 Navy 15–6 4–2 3rd NCAA Division I first round
2012 Navy 18–6 6–0 1st NCAA Division I first round
2013 Navy 19–2 6–0 1st NCAA Division I second round
2014 Navy 14–3 6–2 2nd
2015 Navy 15–5 6–2 T–2nd
2016 Navy 13–6 7–2 2nd
2017 Navy 13–4 8–1 2nd NCAA Division I semifinal
2018 Navy 18–4 8–1 2nd NCAA Division I quarterfinal
2019 Navy 16–5 8–1 2nd NCAA Division I second round
2020 Navy 2–4 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Navy 8–4 4–2 3rd (South)
2022 Navy 15–5 7–2 T–2nd
2023 Navy 13–6 6–3 T–3rd
2024 Navy 15–4 8–1 2nd
2025 Navy 15–5 7–2 3rd NCAA Division I
Navy: 252–82 (.754) 104–26 (.800)
Total: 588–168 (.778)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  2. ^ West Chester, Haverford High grad Timchal is building at Navy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2008, retrieved 2011-10-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  4. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  5. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  6. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  7. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  8. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  9. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  10. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  11. ^ "Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  12. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  13. ^ DakotaDan (2006), Navy Names Cindy Timchal as Head Coach, Annapolis, Maryland: LaxPower, archived from the original on 2012-03-30, retrieved 2011-10-15
  14. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  15. ^ Women's Lacrosse, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  16. ^ Timchal Inducted into Delaware County Chapter of PA Sports Hall of Fame, CBS Interactive, 2011, retrieved 2011-10-15
  17. ^ "Hall of Fame Inductees". USA Lacrosse. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
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